“Accidents do happen.” The other soldier lifted his gun. “Sometimes more than once.”
Matt tried to block with his arm, but the handcuff held it in place. The gun butt rushed toward him, pain rocked his skull, then blackness filled his vision.
* * *
Lauren pushed the button and jumped back. Apollo flashed. A wave of light splashed against the cave’s back wall and coated it with sparkling yellow radiance. The light coalesced into a rectangle that opened into another world.
On the other side, beams of light whirled everywhere, while engine noises and whipping wind burst through the portal like a tsunami of sound. Lauren reached out and touched the portal plane. It sizzled on contact.
“Wait here.” She untied her sweatshirt sleeves, pulled it on, and jumped through the portal. Helicopters buzzed above like a swarm of angry dragonflies. About ten steps from the portal, a body lay on its stomach, probably a man. Near a wall in the distance, three men with guns stood at the entrance to a cave. Smoke poured from within.
Lauren leaped back inside and pulled Eagle into a crouch several feet from the portal boundary. Gasping for breath, she clutched his hand. “They have helicopters … and rifles.”
“I saw them. Can you close the portal?”
“No, but I think it’ll close by itself.” She took in a deep breath, hoping to calm her racing heart. “I don’t know how long it’ll take.”
The portal hole began to contract, now the size of a single door. At this rate, it would be closed in about a minute. “Before I opened it, I thought I heard gunshots, and then I heard Matt call Valiant’s name. If that’s Valiant lying out there, maybe he’s been shot and—”
“My father?” Eagle jumped up and leaped through the portal. When his body made contact with the plane, his shirt and trousers caught fire. He dashed to the fallen man’s side, hoisted him over his shoulder, and ran back, slowed by the weight.
“You there!” someone shouted. “Halt!”
A shot rang out. A bullet smacked into the cave’s side wall. Eagle dove in through the shrinking hole and rolled with the man on the ground. Blood from the man’s chest wound sprayed across Lauren’s clothes. She leaped up and helped Eagle to his feet, batting away the flames on his pant legs and shirt sleeves. “It is my father!” he said, his voice hoarse.
Lauren looked at the portal. It had shrunk to the size of a car door, though it was still big enough to provide light for the cave. A man leaped through and fell into a somersault, barely missing Valiant as his momentum carried him along.
Another man appeared at the portal, trying to crawl through. Eagle whipped out his dagger and slung it at him. The blade impaled his chest and sent him falling backwards. The portal contracted further and closed with a sparks-filled pop.
Two flashlights flicked on, one in Eagle’s grip and the other in the hand of the man who leaped through the portal. “If you have a weapon,” Eagle growled, “drop it now. I have another dagger, and you have seen how accurate I am.”
The man lifted a hand. “Cool it! I’m on your side.”
Eagle’s light fell across the man’s standing form. A pair of wings spread out behind him.
Lauren gasped. “It’s Gabriel! He’s a friend!”
“Good.” Eagle dropped to the ground next to his father and pressed an ear against his chest. “Father? Can you hear me?”
“Where did you come from?” Lauren asked Gabriel. “Were you just flying around out there?”
Gabriel brushed sparks off a sweatshirt sleeve. “Dropped out of a helicopter. Walter, Ashley, and Billy’s parents are still in it flying near the crater.”
“Jared’s out there?” Lauren grabbed his sleeve. “We need to get him into Second Eden. We’re close to a cure, but he has to be here.”
“I’ll give them a shout as soon as we get back to Earth.” Gabriel pointed his flashlight at Valiant. “How is he? I saw them shoot him.”
Eagle lifted his head from his father’s chest. As he rose, he displayed something in his palm, a companion in a pool of blood. It lay motionless and dark.
“Is he …” Lauren bit her lip. The words stuck in her throat.
“I heard a faint heartbeat,” Eagle whispered.
Valiant’s companion flickered, then tilted upright and floated in a meandering path to his chest and settled there. Valiant blinked his eyes open, but swollen bruises allowed only narrow slits to appear. “Eagle.” His voice gurgled as he gasped for breath. “You almost … lost something.”
“Lost something?” Tears trickled down Eagle’s cheeks. “What?”
Valiant opened his hand. A companion lifted from his palm and flew to Eagle’s shoulder. “It fell … when you picked me up.” He grasped Eagle’s wrist and drew him closer. “Do not fear death … neither for me … nor for yourself.” Blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, his voiced weakened to a whisper. “We go to a better place. Remember that.”
Eagle’s tears dripped to his father’s chest. “I will remember.”
Valiant closed his eyes. After a final exhale, his chest stopped moving. His companion rolled off and clinked on the floor.
His chin quivering, Eagle picked up the companion and set it back on Valiant’s chest. “My father is dead. The great warrior has fallen.”
Gabriel stooped next to Eagle and laid a hand on his shoulder. “I hate to say this, but we’ll have to grieve later. Your father would want you to keep fighting. This is far from over.”
Nodding, Eagle rose, his legs unsteady. “What do we do?”
Gabriel pointed his light at Apollo. “Can we fire up that thing and open the portal again?”
“I suppose so.” Lauren crouched next to Apollo. “The settings should be the same, but I don’t know if it needs time to recharge. I’ve used it a lot.”
“Ashley’s new model can flash a bunch of times without plugging it in. It can also recharge on ambient light.”
“What of the soldiers?” Eagle asked.
Gabriel withdrew a handgun from a hip holster and touched his jaw. “I picked up a lot of info from the chatter, and I think Listener’s in another cave in that crater. We have to help her. It looked like they were trying to gas her out.”
“And I can get Jared into Second Eden from in there,” Lauren said. “There’s a quick way to the hospital and Dr. Conner.”
“First things first.” Gabriel checked his ammo magazine. “We’ll have to clear out the opposition.”
Eagle withdrew his other dagger. “Let’s go.”
“What about your companion?” Lauren asked.
“Since my father thought it was a good idea to fight out there, I will follow his wisdom. I think I will not need a companion.” With a gentle hand, he took his companion from his shoulder and pushed it into an inner tunic pocket. “I am ready.”
“Okay. On three.” Lauren hiked her backpack higher and set her finger on the button. “One … two … three!” She pushed the button. Apollo flashed again. Radiance splashed over the wall, this time covering an area the size of a bedroom window.
After hooking his flashlight to his belt, Gabriel leaped through, firing his gun. With a beat of his wings, he vaulted into the air. Eagle stowed his flashlight and jumped. Again flames slithered across his clothes, but he quietly batted them away. Lauren snatched Apollo and ran in his wake, protected by the flame-retardant sweatshirt. Since she and Eagle passed through with so little noise, maybe Gabriel’s covering gunshots kept anyone from noticing them.
Lauren and Eagle dropped to the ground, Lauren careful to keep Apollo safe. The soldier Eagle had impaled leaned against the wall near the other cave with the dagger still in his chest, his shirt now off. The other two stood, aiming their rifles at the sky, alternately shooting and shifting their aims, while the wounded man shone a flashlight into the air. “Someone must be in the cave,” he shouted, “or the dragon freak wouldn’t be coming after him!”
“No one could survive
the gas that long,” one of the others snapped. “We’ll drag him out when the gas clears.”
From above, a shot rang out. A bullet smacked into the ground next to the wounded man’s foot. He shifted his body away and pointed the flashlight. “There! I think he’s there!”
“Gabriel is keeping them occupied.” Eagle pressed a leaf over his mouth, muffling his voice. “I’m going in. The darkness will conceal me.”
“I’m coming with you.” Lauren pulled her leaf from her pocket, shot to her feet, and skulked at his side, carrying Apollo. When they neared the cave, Eagle bolted for it and dove inside.
“What the—” One of the soldiers aimed his rifle at the opening, but another batted the barrel away. “He’s dead meat. Let him stew.”
Lauren looked up. Gabriel was nowhere in sight. With the soldiers focused on finding him, it was now or never. She heaved in a breath and ran for the cave. Hugging Apollo and tucking her body, she rolled into the opening, then, still holding her breath, crawled the rest of the way, pushing Apollo along. Her backpack scraped the ceiling, halting her progress once, but with a strong kick, she broke through.
Behind her, someone laughed. “These idiots really have a death wish, don’t they?”
Lauren slapped the leaf over her mouth and stood in the chamber, her eyes stinging. The soldiers’ lantern shone dimly, illuminating white gas that swirled with her movement. Listener sat against the back wall with her eyes closed and her mask on, while Eagle crouched at her side, his flashlight beam pointed at her chest. “She’s okay,” he whispered through his leaf as he blinked. “Her eyes are burning.”
“Mine, too. Let’s get out of here.” Lauren set Apollo next to the back wall. “Please help Listener move out of the way, and then give me some light.”
After Eagle guided Listener toward a side wall, he shone his flashlight on Apollo. Lauren scrolled through the recent data settings, barely able to see them through her tears. She and her father opened this portal once before, but it led to a mining tunnel in Hades. This time it needed to open into the museum room. Since this cave was visible from there, it had to be possible.
She ran a finger along the wall until it poked through a small hole. “Eagle, look.” She blinked her stinging eyes. Her mouth burned. Words had to stay at a minimum. “Do you see a flaming tree?”
Eagle peeked through the hole. “Yes,” he said, his voice muffled. “What does it mean?”
“Sorry. Can’t explain.” She set her fingers back on Apollo and continued scrolling through data. She had to set the flash with the spectral numbers she used to open the portal while inside the museum room instead of the numbers Dad used to go to the mining tunnel. Finally, the settings appeared.
Lauren transferred the database entries to Apollo’s current settings. “Ready?”
Eagle stood with his shoulder under Listener’s arm. Both breathed through their filters. “Ready.”
“Here we go.” Lauren pushed the button. Apollo flashed and painted its usual rectangular door on the wall, though even smaller this time, no taller than her shoulders. Still, it was big enough. The tree of life burned brightly, and gas flowed through the portal, sizzling as it ran across the tree’s flaming leaves.
Ducking low, Lauren picked up Apollo and walked into the museum room, followed by Eagle and Listener. Listener dropped to her knees, stripped off her mask, and began coughing and dry heaving.
Eagle knelt beside her and patted her back while rubbing his eyes. “Inhale deeply through your nose. Exhale through your mouth.”
After setting Apollo down and stuffing her leaf into her pocket, Lauren pushed the edge of her shirt sleeve into one eye and absorbed the tears, then repeated the process with the other eye. They still stung horribly.
As Listener’s spasms eased, Eagle looked at Lauren. “I think she’ll be all right.”
“Good.” Lauren nodded toward the portal. “We need to get the guns.”
He leaped back to the Earth cave and returned with three rifles. As with the other portals attached to the museum room, this one didn’t shrink.
Lauren picked up Apollo. “We don’t have any time to lose, but I have to see if I can recharge Apollo, at least a little bit.”
Pushing the menu button, she ran through the settings—Maintenance, Charging, AC Power. She altered the setting to Ambient Light and pushed Apollo close to the tree. She checked its power meter. It was already increasing. Maybe a few minutes would be enough.
Although the portal window to the Earth cave maintained its size, very little gas drifted through, mainly what was drawn in by their bodies when they rushed from Earth to the museum. Inside the cave, the soldiers’ lantern dimmed. It probably wouldn’t last much longer.
While Listener sat on the floor, still coughing at times, Eagle again consoled her. Lauren walked to the Second Eden portal and gazed at the cooling lava field she had so recently walked upon. Her prints remained in a line of six foot-shaped splotches of blood and skin.
As Joan floated closer, Lauren sent a thought her way. I can’t take Eagle and Listener that way, can I?
Not as long as it stays as hot as it is. Joan blinked red a single time. That was your trial, not theirs.
“Right.” Lauren looked at the Earth portal. “If we go back that way, the soldiers will pick us off as we come out of the cave.”
I assume so. Their anger was filled with malice.
Lauren continued in her thoughts. I can’t leave Gabriel to fight those guys alone, and I have to get Jared into Second Eden.
Of course, but how will you do that without getting yourself and Eagle and Listener killed?
Lauren let out a sigh. By going without them.
Chapter 22
BURNED
Lauren stripped off her backpack, retrieved the helmet from inside, and scooted the pack close to the ladder. She retied her sweatshirt sleeves around her waist. Since it was probably still pretty warm out there, her T-shirt would be enough. “Eagle, stay here and watch over Listener. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Are you going to help Gabriel?”
“That’s my plan.” She picked up one of the rifles and grabbed Apollo. After checking to make sure her goggles’ strap was still secure around her neck, she stood in front of the Second Eden portal. “We can’t escape safely from the cave we just came through, so I’m going to the Valley of Shadows. I’m the only one who can walk on the lava field, so you two stay here and get your strength back.” She nodded at the Earth portal. “Look for me there in a little while.”
“Do you know how to fire that weapon?” Listener asked.
Lauren looked at the rifle. “Pull the trigger, right?”
“You took mine, so it should be set.” Listener pulled down her mask. “Do you know how to be ready for recoil?”
“Recoil? What’s recoil?”
Listener struggled to her feet, picked up another rifle, and pressed the butt against her shoulder. She set one foot well in front of the other. “Lean into the shot when you fire. Otherwise, it will kick you off balance.”
“Got it.” Still holding Apollo, Lauren put the helmet on and gave Eagle and Listener a one-armed embrace. “Please pray for me.”
“We will,” they said, almost in unison.
Lauren stepped through the Second Eden portal and walked across the field, unaffected by the heat. Joan floated near her shoulder, humming an unfamiliar tune. Might it be something French from her era? It would be interesting to hear the words, but would it ever happen? Probably not this side of Heaven, not with what the future likely held in store for both of them.
When Lauren reached the end of her bloody footprints, she looked at the hospital, still barely visible. A tiny light appeared from a gap under a window shade. Maybe Dr. Conner was working on how to simulate a volcanic eruption.
She shook her head. The poor man. His dear wife lay dying, maybe within hours of succumbing to the batholith, and he labored feverishly,
desperate for a cure. With his mind battling between science and faith, he likely knew that only a miracle could heal Irene, but he had to rely on science while he waited for God to act. No one who really loves someone twiddles his thumbs while his beloved is suffering.
She turned toward the volcano. As trickles of lava crept slowly down the mountain’s sides, the entire area glowed. Could a miracle come from the mouth of Elijah? Maybe everyone would find out soon.
Cupping a hand around her mouth, Lauren called, “Albatross! Can you hear me? I need another ride!”
Something scratched her shoulders, caught the back of her shirt, and jerked her upward. She gasped. Her helmet flew off. Two fingers clung to Apollo’s dowel, and one lodged in the rifle’s trigger. It fired, sending a bullet into the ground. After juggling Apollo and spinning the rifle for a moment, she hugged both against her chest. Her fingers touched the goggles, still in place.
A dragon’s head appeared at the end of a long neck that snaked underneath a white, scaly body. Albatross blinked at her, his face upside-down. He blew a whistle that sounded like a question.
Lauren let out a relieved sigh. “I’m okay, Albatross. I appreciate the quick response. Now, if you don’t mind, please take me back to the cave in the valley.” She added in her mind, A little warning would have helped.
Albatross let out a happy squeal and extended his neck forward.
Joan emerged from Lauren’s blowing hair. It was wise to hold back that thought. There was no need to dampen his joy.
Right. I’m just glad I didn’t shoot anyone.
Take courage. You might have to shoot someone if you wish to rescue Gabriel.
Lauren swallowed. I know. It won’t be easy.
I commanded soldiers who killed many men, and it was never easy. Freedom for the righteous oppressed often comes at great cost.
Lauren nodded. Joan was right, as usual. The cost was high, but freedom for Gabriel and restored health for Jared were worth even more.
As Albatross flew on, Lauren’s shirt rode higher, exposing her abdomen up to her ribs. Cold air chilled her skin. At least this flight shouldn’t take too long.